SGP GLAS.t Screen Protector for iPhone review

If you switched from a phone with a plastic screen to the iPhone's spectacular glass screen, then you know how different the feeling is. It's like night and day. Glass is just so much easier to slide, swipe, pinch, flick and use than plastic. For everything from basic navigation to good old game plat, glass is the feeling you want. And it's exactly the feeling the SGP GLAS.t Screen Protector for iPhone gives you.

Although I've used a lot of screen protectors and films over the years, I've never stuck with any of them precisely because they made my beautiful glass iPhone screen feel like cheap, sticky plastic. Every swipe just felt wrong. The SGP GLAS.t Screen Protector suffers from none of that. It feels almost exactly like the iPhone screen. The reason for that is simple -- GLAS.t has a hardness of 8-9H, which they say is three times stronger than regular PET film.

That also makes it incredibly scratch resistant, so contact with keys, loose change, and other common pocket objects isn't a problem. It is a high-density material, however, so if you drop it from high enough it could chip -- but better the inexpensive, easily replaceable GLAS.t than your expensive, not easily replaceable iPhone screen and digitizer, right? The GLAS.t is also specifically designed to break into small, non-sharp pieces so it's not as dangerous as a traditional glass product.

The GLAS.t sticks to your iPhone by virtue of a strong silicon adhesive and once in place it transfers capacitive touch input effortlessly between your finger or stylus and your iPhone. I noticed no missed multi-touch moments or any lag whatsoever. Because it's a solid layer, it will add slightly more thickness (0.4mm) to your iPhone than the almost two-dimensional plastic films, but the difference in tactile feel more than makes up for it. It eclipses it.

Because of the thickness, however, SGP includes several Home button extenders that you can use to make the Home button easier to press. You don't have to use them, they just turn -- for lack of a better term! -- your iPhone Home button from an innie to an outie. You get black, white, pink, and green options. I much prefer the basic black one.

The GLAS.t is also oleophobic, just like the iPhone screen, so it repels oil and finger smudges and is much easier to keep clean. (SGP nicely includes a microfiber cloth to help with just that.)

The good

Feels just like iPhone glass -- spectacular!

Oleophobic for easier cleaning

Scratch resistant

The bad

Not as thin or chip-resistant as plastic.

The bottom line

The feel of glass is just so much better than the feel of plastic that once you try the SGP GLAS.t I don't think you'll ever be able to go back. It's easy to put on, easy to clean, it's scratch proof, and it just looks and works so much better than a plastic screen protector. The best compliment I can give the GLAS.t is that after a while it doesn't feel like you're using a screen protector at all, it just feels like you're using the same silky smooth glass surface you've always been using.

It's the best screen protector I've ever used (and a lot of us here at Mobile Nations are now absolutely hooked on them).

GeorgiaSenior Editor at iMore and a practicing therapist specializing in stress and anxiety. She speaks everywhere from conferences to corporations, co-host of Vector, Review, and Isometric podcasts, and should be followed on Twitter @Georgia_Dow.

Yea I am with you guys. $30 isn't that much and for a screen protector like that?!? I was expecting $40-50 for a glass screen protector. Besides if you bought a iPod or iPhone or even an iPad you paid a hefty price. So are you going to ruin it with one lousy screen protector?!?

Depends on how much you value your daily experience with your iPhone. For me this is a no brainer. I really liked my Palm Pre Plus but the plastic screen was like fingers on a chalkboard. Same with cheapy screen protectors. I'd tear them off in frustration.
The GLAS.t looks great and feels great. Sometimes value is WAY more important than cost.
I use my iPhone for 16+ hours a day, every day. Having it work and feel the way I want for only $30? Cheap.

I Guess... I spend 15 on the zagg nano shield and keep in on for the year I have my phone, but the wife doesn't like the way they feel and swaps out a .99 every month or two when they get all scratched up... I have used the zagg for every gen of iPhone I've owned (all 5) and found they have gotten better over time. Less tacky on front and the addition of a dry apply vs wet. 30 is a lot if you've ever messed up the application of one :-/

Looks fantastic. Thickness concerns me a bit, unsure if hard slide cases will be able to slide over phone and screen protector. Georgia, what's your experience with any of the cases that you have used?

I like my iPhone naked. So this appeals to me. This glass screen protector is perfect for the non case feel of the iPhone. I have found more resale value with a less scratched screen but I am vulnerable by having my iPhone nude. So this is something I am going to try.

Rodney, I had the same question. I have the Speck Geometric, which is pretty similar to the Candyshell in that it kind of wraps over the top. Do you guys know if this protector will work with these cases? I feel as though Geometric would be a little more compatible as it can bend a bit, but I want to make sure it doesn't push the protector and cause bubbles.

I have the Glas.t installed on my phone and love it! It feels just like the iPhone screen unlike other screen protectors. I don't know about the Candyshell cases but I had a Burton speck case and it does not fit with the screen protector on. It won't close properly. The otterbox commuter hybrid fits. I am trying to find other cases that would fit. I ordered one from SGP but did not like the construction of the case.

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